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Evening Standard

Lifestyle

Ellie Davis

Always Pan 2.0 review: the new Our Place pan takes cooking to the next level

Our Place

When Our Place’s Always Pan landed on UK soil back in 2021, it changed the game for compact kitchens.

The brand’s motto “Why do we need so many pans when one pan could do so much more?” led to a cooking instrument that had the ability to replace a whopping eight pans in one.

Promising to declutter cupboards around the world, the Always Pan was compared to the Swiss Army Knife for replacing many of the essentials, including frying, boiling, steaming, sauteing, roasting as well as braising, searing and straining.

Beloved both for its multifunctionality and its aesthetically-pleasing array of colours that put its stainless steel counterparts to shame, there was just one problem: customers who attempted to move it from the cooker into the oven found that it melted when temperatures soared - hardly ideal for an item designed for home cooking.

So with consumer feedback ringing in their ears, Our Place got to work on a replacement. The Always Pan 2.0 was born.

Specs

Functions: 10-in-1 pans - searing, baking, braising, steaming, frying, boiling, roasting, straining, serving and sauteing.
Material: 100 per cent certified post-consumer recycled aluminium
Colours: Eight - Steam (light grey, Char (charcoal), Blue Salt, Sage, Spice (light terracotta), Lavender, Azul and Rosa
Oven safe: Yes
Dishwasher safe: No
Size: 26.7cm
What’s included: Pan with oven-safe lid, spatula and steamer basket

Design

This is where the Always Pan beats out its competition. It is one of the most aesthetically-pleasing pans on the market.

On first appearance, the 2.0 is instantly different to the original design. It has a deeper base and sides, which makes cooking curries and chilli easier in larger quantities, especially with the pour spout for no-spill serving. It can even fit a whole chicken with the domed lid.

This new model muscles in on two additional pans in its mission to reclaim your kitchen cupboards. Watch out roasting and baking dishes, it’s coming for you too.

What stays the same is the incredibly attractive matte finish - we don’t often say that about a pan - and the pleasing choice of colours. This is the kind of countertop addition you will display proudly, not leave in your cupboards. It’ll ignite questions from guests eager to get their hands on one and can become a chic kitchen detail in its own right by matching your design scheme or injecting a pop of colour.

The pan is made entirely from post-consumer recycled aluminium and so takes a more eco-conscious approach to its construction, not just in the material itself but its ability to cook faster. It also comes with a handy spatula rest to keep your counter spick and span, and within the box, a wooden spatula to fit exactly into place between tasting and stirring sessions.

Functionality

Not content on resting on its laurels, the brand has taken its user-friendly nature to the next level by making this new pan oven safe up to 232^oC. This opens up the possibility for more uses for the one pan, something that is welcomed when whipping up speedy one-pot mid-week meals and crisping up rice, potatoes or meat.

I popped all the ingredients into the pan for a hearty homemade lamb kofteh dish and it was ready in 25 mins (roll the mixture of lamb mince, grated onion, garlic and a medly of spices including sumac, ground coriander and ground cinamon into balls, pop in the oven for 10 minutes and then add tomatoes and chickpeas for an additional 10 - easy and de-licious). The possibilities are endless though for daily use, no matter the dish in question.

Just beware when taking the pot out of the oven. Our instinct was to pick it up from the handle, but it is of course, hot. The pan is fitted with a long handle so when cooking on the hob, the end does stays cool but you can never be too safe so employ the use of oven gloves to avert trips to A&E.

It is worth saying though that while the smaller ‘Helper Handle’ does make handling heavy contents easier, this is not heatproof. The lid is oven-safe too and locks in steam for a real voilà! moment once the timer has gone off.

The Always Pan 2.0 has a conductive aluminium construction and the same high gloss ceramic non-stick coating as its predecessor made free from any harmful materials, but given a long-lasting twist and. But much like the original, it gets seriously hot. This means that when a recipe calls for cranking up to a high heat, stick with around a six on induction hobs and midway on gas, otherwise you might just find yourself with burnt garlic and a chicken Milanese breadcrumb coating that is charred (this may or may not have happened exactly).

This action also protects the non-stick. Try not to use cooking sprays, metal utensils and scouring pads to prolong the longevity of the coating. This is worth doing it because it’s a very impressive feature that means you can use a lot less oil for healthier dishes, whether you’re making scrambled eggs or stir frys. Hand washing is best but if you run the tap while the surface is still warm, you’ll find the residue slips off with ease.

Alongside the spatula comes a steamer basket attachment that doubles up as a colander and with the deeper construction, it’s much easier to use. I got creative with this and while steaming broccoli and carrots for a Sunday roast was extremely helpful, gyozas bought from the local Japanese supermarket rivalled that of Wagamamas.

Verdict

Our Place never fail in the design space. The pans have always been works of art, but it has upped the functionality of its pans with this new model. Now equal parts style and substance, the Always Pan 2.0’s ability to go in the oven changes everything. The larger capacity is helpful too and it makes batch cooking a possibility the previous compact pan was missing.